Thursday, July 24, 2014

Brett Wallach 2010 Daytona Cubs #23

Card Review: A As far team issued minor league sets go, this card is very nice. It's an unapologetic '62/'87 Topps ripoff, but ripping off classic Topps designs is something I wholeheartedly encourage minor league teams to do with their team sets. On top of the nice design, it's fantastic photo, for any set. I've always been a huge fan of cards with photos of a ball in flight. This is really a great way to do cards for pitchers, and seems so obvious that I'm surprised it's not used enough to be cliche. Yet I can't recall seeing many (if any) shots like this in Topps sets over the years.

The Dodgers traded Brett Wallach to the Cubs in 2010 for Ted Lilly. The Dodgers included another minor leaguer in the deal, Kyle Smit, but Wallach was the headliner for the Cubs. It's a pretty good demonstration of just how highly Brett was thought of as a prospect before his arm injury. Hopefully his best pitching days are still ahead of him.